Wednesday, 25 March 2020

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Art works for a security company, spending his days trawling through the
Internet trying to find copyright infringements, snuffing out the spread of
small artists’ creative work. In his spare time he writes a nature blog, posts
about imagined walks and encounters with nature, constructed via the internet
instead of genuine experience. His girlfriend, Charlotte, tired of his apathy,
leaves, smashing his laptop and hacking into his Twitter account to post fake
news designed to discredit and embarrass. It is this which leaves him
desperately in need of someone to take to his mother’s at Christmas. A
fortuitous meeting at a bus stop provides him what he needs and he soon finds
himself traveling to Cornwall with Lux who, he pays to pose as Charlotte.

We soon come to realise that his deception
is not the only one. His mother Sophia and her sister Iris can’t agree on what
happened during his childhood, who looked after him and when. The reader is
never quite sure which account to believe but you’ll likely find yourself
naturally leaning toward one. Iris is an activist and thinks of herself as a
citizen of the world. Sophia can’t understand her lifestyle and dislikes
immigrants, yet seems to trust Lux, originally from Croatia, more than her own
family. Lux is refreshingly honest, intelligent, good with people, and subverts
racial prejudices. She helps Art to see the ridiculousness of the government’s
actions, sending out boats to intercept rescue ships sent to help migrants in
trouble in the sea. The last section of the novel highlights the cruel way
bureaucracy treats people, preferring to eject those who need help, blind to
their humanity.

The novel is full of contradictions. Sophia is rigid and resistant to
emotion yet has no trouble imagining a head around her home, ghostly yet
containing no horror to her. She is a modern day Scrooge, resenting the
intrusion of her family and refusing to eat any of the Christmas dinner Iris
prepares for them.

The novel has an otherworldly feel to it yet remains unashamedly
political. Ali directs her characters to highlight the folly of isolationism
and reminds us that people are not mere statistics. She plays not only
on the political challenges of the day, and indeed those of the past, but also
the way we replace real life interactions with screen time and armchair
activism. As always, she holds up a mirror to the absurdities of the day and
encourages a more compassionate worldview.

Wednesday, 18 March 2020

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Harry Potter and knitting fans rejoice, the official Harry Potter
knitting book is here, and it’s beautiful. Full colour photos and knitting
patterns ranging from toys to clothes to wash cloths, there’s bound to be
something in here that makes your needles twitch. There are a lot more wearable
patterns than I was expecting but there’s also plenty of stills from the films,
concept art, and little snippets of trivia about the design and creation of the
costumes used in the film.

Each pattern is rated on difficulty and all techniques have an
explanation. Whether you want to wear your fandom with pride or have some more
subtle references in your knits this is the book for you. There’s a clever
illusion scarf suitable for beginners, a technique I haven’t seen before and
can’t wait to try out, the standard house scarves and Weasley Christmas
jumpers, and some more unusual designs (including some that we probably could have done without).

I wasn’t expecting there to be many patterns in this that I’d want
to knit so ordered it through my local library but actually it’s such a well
designed book that I might have to add it to my book shopping list.

Wednesday, 11 March 2020

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A Vintage Mini, this is an excerpt from Heller’s second
novel Something Happened. Bob Slocum is our narrator for a
darkly humorous take on office life. Full of brutal truths followed by
corporate platitudes, he doesn’t pull any punches. Slocum navigates the complex
web of office politics by lying to his colleagues and sleeping his way around
the secretaries, a not uncommon approach. He is keenly aware of the pecking
order and the little power games people play, although he isn’t entirely immune
from them himself.

A book very much of its time but also relatable to modern workers. He
comments that he doesn’t intend to stay with the company for the rest of his
life but is making no plans to leave, a familiar attitude to many. He is able
to objectively see that his colleagues are falling for their own propaganda,
believing that what they do is important yet seems unaware that he also falls
victim to this on occasion.

A concise, witty take on surviving office life. I’m not rushing out to
buy the full novel but as a vignette it works well.

Wednesday, 4 March 2020

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Honeyman’s debut has received
rave reviews and its fair share of awards, although it has also divided
opinion. Eleanor Oliphant is thirty years old and lonely. Her colleagues think
she is odd and are more likely to be found laughing at her behind her back than
making conversation with her. This she can tolerate, the isolated weekends that
are eased only with the help of a bottle of vodka however, are harder to
swallow. Her case may be extreme but it’s not uncommon for people to find
themselves with nobody to talk to outside of work. ‘These days, loneliness is
the new cancer – a shameful, embarrassing thing, bought upon yourself in some
obscure way. A fearful, incurable thing, so horrifying that you dare not
mention it.’ Thankfully, even in the few yeas since the book was published, the
conversation around loneliness has become more prominent.

There are a number of threads
running through the story. It is hinted at early on that Eleanor suffered some
trauma in her childhood which is alluded to throughout and gradually revealed
in more detail. We are led to suppose that it is the events from her youth that
are at the root of her naïve yet oddly formal behaviour, her inability to
engage with the world in what others would consider a normal way. The further
into the novel the more we see the connections between her past and her current
mental state and self-confidence.Her attempts at healing feel very true
to life and are emotional to read

The other main narrative thread
draws on common tropes found in rom-coms – a crush on a man that is obviously
no good while remaining oblivious to the kindness of someone closer, and the
physical transformation that a change of clothes and some make-up brings. These
parts feel more predictable and cliched but make for easy reading.

An interesting, humorous read
that gives you the perspective of a young woman who’s never quite learned to
connect with her fellow humans. Her internal monologue shows her confusion with
popular culture and the behaviour of those she meets, and although you root for
her you can understand why people get off on the wrong foot with her. There are
some inconsistencies and the ease with which she adapts to some of the
situations don’t seem quite in keeping with her general character but overall
this is a heartfelt, relatable read.